Pied Piper

I’ve written the introduction for a new edition of Nevil Shute’s 1942 novel PIED PIPER, which is published this week by Vintage Classics as part of their re-issue of his work.

It’s a terrific novel, following the fortunes of an elderly man who finds himself in France during the Second World War and in charge of an ever-growing group of children, each of different nationalities and each orphaned by the war itself. Shute is probably best known for A TOWN LIKE ALICE and ON THE BEACH but PIED PIPER is really worth a read. You can buy it from Amazon or Waterstone’s or other bookshops.

Human Rights in Pictures

More on the anniversary of the UN’s Declaration of Human Rights. The UK children’s publishers Frances Lincoln are producing an illustrated guide to the declaration for children to be published in October. Including artwork by some great illustrators, such as Axel Scheffler, Alan Lee and Chris Riddell, the book features two forewords written by David Tennant (“Doctor Who”) and myself. It’s not available yet but you can pre-order it from the publisher’s website here.